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Monday, February 20, 2012

Critics Love Acadia, but Hate on the Sloop

We loved Acadia when we had our maiden voyage to the upscale eatery at 1639 S. Wabash and according to a post on Curbed Chicago, other culinary critics from around the city are also having similar feelings:

Mike Sula (Chicago Reader) thinks Acadia gets it right in the unlikeliest of neighborhoods. Garnishes “support and synergize” a la carte dishes such as a foie gras torchon rolled in malt crumbles from which “radiate” arrangements of jellied hot-toddy cubes and smudges of curried apple butter. Chicken presse is “highly refined, but unironic and satisfying,” and fat shrimp “summon the nostalgia” of Spain. For drinks, a “depthless and enduring” rum and kola smash will ease you through the courses. Despite the lack of competition in the area, Sula thinks the restaurant “ought to do well just about anywhere.”

13 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Old timers from the north side still see this area as it was 15 years ago. I think theyd have a stroke from confusion if they lived here for a week. On the flipside we love public trans but that roosevelt el stop and the jewel being used be outsiders of the neighborhood brings a lot of rif raf in here. Anyone who drives down roosevelt consistently and almost hits the stampede of people jaywalking between wabash and state all day long can relate.

Of course we are going to get lots of out siders. It contributes to the increased foot traffic. Many of those outsiders work in the sloop and attend the community colleges. Also many people are poor and use the computers in the Harold Washington becuase the ones in their area is filled to capacity.

People like to bash and malign the sloop because they are elitist snobs who have a sense of geographical superiority(hope that makes sense). They still consider the sloop "the south side". We aren't suppose to have these sort of amenities in this area of "the south side", and that is what bothers them. If we keep this up (and our neighbors gentrify)we might actual cut into their market share of prospective residents.

I'd rather have "rif raf" than a bunch of suburbanites with their non-inclusive attitudes. I LOVE the diversity of the neighborhood, from the Columbia College kids to the African American "pioneers" who IMO turned this neighborhood from the wild west (starting 20 or more years ago) to a place that is a pleasure to live in. I've lived in the neighborhood for 11 years now. The small-minded comments on Sloopin sometimes make me think I should be moving on so that this can become Naperville East.

To your last statement, it's not the fault of the commuters, it's the fault of the city planners. When the stop was rebuilt, the CTA should have put an entrance for the L on the south side of the street. Without that, people will take the most direct route to the station (happens in every part of the city, in any city).

And the whining about "outsiders" by sloopers is just as ridiculous as people clinging to negative stereotypes of the neighborhood. You live in a city, get used to outsiders. And the public transit that you rag on is one of the biggest factors for making the neighborhood attractive.

Not ragging about the public trans, its a huge attraction down the line..the ridiculous stereotypes sloopers talk about are justly kept alive as a result of the outsiders...send these outsiders to lincoln park and lakeview to do grocery shopping and you will have the same whining...geographically with grant park, museums, the lake, lsd, all the major highways and public trans the Sloop is the premium Chicago location to live in moving forward...stereotypes are really holding back the development of the neighborhood

20 years ago - Dearborn Park was built and no one else lived in the abandoned warehouses that were cleared for development. Pioneers were those who BOUGHT places to live in the Printers Row, DP I, II area, not those that lived off our taxes. Just for clarity - the only area that was gentrified in the South Loop is when they moved Pacific Garden Mission and now the Cermak corridor (Ickes site) and in the future - if they ever figure out that they NEED to demolish or convert to hotels the 2buildings on S Michigan bw Cullerton-21st.

Honestly, I could care less what those living outside of the sloop on the N. Side have to say about my home. I choose to live in the SL because of everything it is and everything that the N. Side is not. N. Siders choose not to live in the SL because they look for something different than what we have. One is not distinctly better than the other, just better for individuals with different priorities and tastes. While they are stuck with the most ridiculous traffic to make it a half mile let’s say down North avenue to get to lake shore or one of the highways...I can make it there in about 5 minutes from where I live-stinks to be them. When N. Siders finally make it to the beach, either on their bikes dodging that bumper to bumper mess, or walking amongst the super crowded throngs of other "cityburbanities" they get a whole lot of...just beach and water; overcrowded, loud, etc. When I walk down to the water in my "hood" I can be surrounded by the beach, a serene harbor, or a quiet patch of grass within the museum campus area to relax and enjoy. It is green, it is beautiful (architecture of the planetarium and museums) it is great! When my friends come over they can actually find a place to park…without driving around for 20 minutes or paying 30 bucks for a garage spot. One of the food writers seemed to think this was a problem (to paraphrase -the valet seems lonely), I, along with my stunned N. Side friends and relieved family members do not. When the N. Siders look around their hood they see, well a neighborhood, that if you didn’t know it, often could be just about anywhere. From most places in the SL you truly feel that you are in the CITY…surrounded by tall buildings, trains, and yes…diverse people!! I want to live in the city and know it, not know that yes, I technically live in the city, but feel like I live in a busier suburb. N. Siders have I am sure plenty to say about their hood and are likely proud of it-good for them. The reality is that my N. Side friends would say they have a much better breadth of top notch restaurants (true), more small boutique shopping (true), and a busier, faster paced environment (true)! However, in my early 20s (I can walk to all these bars!!) this all may have seemed appealing. Now that I am in my 30s…I think I will hop on the train or take a cab when I feel like some delicious N. Side food or some cute indie designer tops. However, I will then take the same train or hop in another cab to make it back to my hood, leaving behind the N. side craziness for my piece of urban life. I think that even despite the slowdown or halt of development in the SL I still consider it to be a frontier of sorts. We are an urban city environment with room to grow…space to breathe…and new and great stuff still keeps slowly moving in. How many other areas in the city can genuinely say that? That is how I like it. If no one but others who truly love the space and choose to live here never say another nice thing about the SL-I don’t care! Everyone who lives here knows that there is still an unlimited amount of potential in this area and waiting for it to go from great to greater is something I am willing to wait for and to enjoy the ride along the way. The lobster rolls at Acadia, Margaritas at Zapatista, pizza at Flo and Santos and sushi at South Coast will keep me busy, full, and happy for years to come!

The only writer who was bitchy about the location is the trib guy. The others barely mentioned it or described it neutrally and factually. (that block of wabash is one run down empty dump, nothing wrong with pointing that out)

don't forget Triad Sushi! they have remodeled the entire inside and have added an updated lounge area to sip on some cocktails and enjoy a game on the plasma. Now if they can only get rid of all the locals that hang out there and smoke all night!

It's really not unexpected what they perceive coming to that block. IMO it's probably one of the worst blocks in the SL in terms of appearance/community and such. It's got a long way to go to improve, but the Acadia owners knew what they were doing. It will get there.